BioWare: Mass Effect 2 will be 'richer'

  • By Emma Boyes, GameSpot UK
  • Posted Mar 12, 2008 6:09 am PT

Greg Zeschuk confirms sequel to space-faring RPG by name, says original's much-maligned side quests will be reworked for follow-up.

Sci-fi role-playing game Mass Effect has won numerous awards, been briefly banned in Singapore, and grabbed a pile of quality review scores. However, to date BioWare and its new parent Electronic Arts have been cagey about its sequel, either making vague references to a 'Mass Effect trilogy' or saying simply that they intended to do more with the Xbox 360--and now PC--franchise.

Now, BioWare's general manager Greg Zeschuk has begun speaking about Mass Effect 2 by name with MTV. Specifically, he addressed the game's side quest system, which was criticized for being repetitive. The 360 edition of the original game also took flak for not awarding the "Completionist" achievement to players who methodically completed every side quest.

Zeschuk told MTV that Mass Effect 2's side quests will be much improved. He said, "Side quests can sometimes be left on the side, so to speak. Pardon the pun. But a lot of times it's even just getting that whole game done, that whole first shot [that is important]. We look at Mass Effect 2 as incredibly exciting. Just the amount of effort and knowledge and know-how that went into building the technology for the first one is huge, and [we now have] the chance to actually make things a little bit richer."

Zeschuk also said that he believes Mass Effect 2 will "take it to a whole new level," and compares the first game to BioWare's classic Dungeons & Dragons-inspired RPG Baldur's Gate, and the second one to Baldur's Gate II. He added, "One of the things we're looking at for sequels and some of our other games is better technical ways, smarter ways to auto-generate content, to create stuff that seems richer to the player."

332 Comments

  • InspectorK

    Posted Jan 15, 2009 11:46 pm PT

    Yes the side quest were a bit repetitive, but even then you still find your self sucked in, making this one of the best games i have ever played. 5.0 5.0 5.0 5.0 !!!!!

  • Mightswipe

    Posted Sep 17, 2008 12:41 am PT

    It would be great if they could improve on the Mako's turret, have a bigger variety of building layouts/appearance, and give a bit more customization on your character's appearance (such as more hairdos, body proportion, etc). Also, the soldier class was a bit dry, but no huge deal. And it would be cool if you could choose to be one of the other main races (Turian, Asari, Selarian, Krogan, etc), perhaps with one or two race-specific abilities.

    Aside from those, the rest of the game was excellent, especially the dialogue scenes, and the variety of dialogue options. I am giddy at my anticipation of the sequel.

  • lathan94

    Posted Aug 31, 2008 8:10 pm PT

    I cant wait for them to continue the story using your own save file i just completed my second playthrough and im pumped for 2.

  • dom1989

    Posted Aug 10, 2008 5:57 pm PT

    All they really need to do is make there be a better vehicle (more consistent with climbing ability and co-axial turret) or more to choose from, as well as improved side-quests and then they'd be set.
    As long as the story is equal to or greater than the last one.

  • shenron43

    Posted Aug 7, 2008 1:58 pm PT

    gonna be a great game.

  • gladi8or19

    Posted Jul 31, 2008 1:42 pm PT

    i want a KOTOR 3 insted, But Mass Effect Rocks

    online this time???

  • julle23

    Posted Jul 29, 2008 12:15 pm PT

    it was fun in the begining but then u realized that all the places was similar
    and in the trailers and news and stuff, they bragged about all the exploring u should do but it wasnt so many planets to land on. not very much on them either good story though

  • FoxyVivica

    Posted Jul 24, 2008 2:05 pm PT

    Was a huge fan of the first and am excited to see what the 2nd has in store. I think it would be awesome if all of your characters decisions carried over into the this one. For instance whether or not certain people are alive or not (dont want to spoiler it for others). But definitely something I am looking forward to getting my hands of for 360.

  • jeremey9905

    Posted Jul 5, 2008 10:02 am PT

    played the game and it is top notch, the graphics are excellent depending on your rig configuration. played xbox 360 version i hope the computer is better, graphics wise.

  • RANDOMHERO1179

    Posted Jun 23, 2008 5:09 am PT

    I haven't touched anything but Bioware since Mass Effect came out. I'm on my 3rd character and my sixth play through on ME. I was so glad to see something different by way of "dungeons" with the "Bring Down the Sky" expansion, and hope to see more new things with the next one. it should'nt be a problem now that EA is on board, they will throw more money into the ring to make us happy and ready for ME3.

  • The_Grim_Reaper

    Posted Jun 22, 2008 3:05 am PT

    I just hope that MA2 will have some more space battle related mission like near the ending of the MA. Also they should do more on the design of the armors and weapons. Though they look really great, it just that all the armors and weapons look very similer if not the smae with only color difference. Even the mines, bases, and shuttles areas look mostly the same.

  • ZEALOTELITE

    Posted Jun 20, 2008 6:38 pm PT

    wtf? it said that i posted my last comment on june 1st 1970 lol according to gamestop i posted a comment about a game that wouldent come out for another 40 years or so. lol gamespot is glitchy sometimes.

  • ZEALOTELITE

    Posted Jun 20, 2008 6:16 pm PT

    LOL the fact that most of the random planets are baren make the game almost more realistic. seen any of those new mars pictures lately? yep pretty baren. anyways i love the first one with all its flaws and i hope we get some more unique and exciting side quest and planets in the second game.

  • Raven_Lord

    Posted Jun 18, 2008 11:58 pm PT

    Three cheers for BioWare actually listening to player complaints about the crate-infested generic blandness of the side quests. Now it's EA's turn to listen to player complaints about the 3-activation limit (even if you uninstall the game you won't get back your activation, check http://masseffect.bioware.com/forums/viewtopic.html?topic=635474&forum=127 )

  • ddaughtry333

    Posted Jun 12, 2008 11:39 am PT

    I agree with most, the game was great to play until the repetition and cloned environments got to ya. But the sweet renditioning of the characters (if only the outfits and weapons got the same treatment) and the imaginative main story line were enough to make it the 8.5 it got from me. One more ergh: the Normandy would have been real fun to fly ourselves, huh people?

    Great nod to Isaac Asimov, zero2x. Another deeply relevant body of literature is the Uplift Series by David Brin. I highly recommend it to anyone, it's a little easier to chew on than the master himself, Isaac.

  • monktheking

    Posted Jun 9, 2008 10:07 am PT

    My only gripe about ME1 would be the recycled compounds/bases. It seems as if the all the future architects suffered from a genophage.

  • CCyberDDemon

    Posted Jun 2, 2008 11:55 am PT

    Hey just put a expansion pack before ME2 so we can go peaceful till 2009

  • agni_1

    Posted May 12, 2008 3:43 pm PT

    I am already getting excited just thinking about this game..sadly though we will probably have to at least wait till like November 2009 or later to get our hands on ME2

  • d3keo

    Posted Apr 25, 2008 4:25 pm PT

    Another thing that would really improve the game would be to add codex entries for completing those "find the" whatever quests. I was pissed that there was no new information, even though I spent like three hours looking for the stupid Salarian ID Tags (or all those other things)

  • J_Wil

    Posted Apr 8, 2008 6:30 pm PT

    I was also very sad to not have melee weapons. I have no doubt that ME2 will take what made ME1 great and make it better. I just really don't like how this article makes it sound like everything was up in the air on teh whole ME2 and 3 thing. It has pretty much been in the works all along and they were already talking about it when ME1 was released. BioWare does amazing work and I sooo look forward to 2 and 3. Kotor 3 would be wonderful so long as BioWare is at the helm and not Obsidian. I'm sorry to say but they slight tarnished the KOTOR good name with a game that was in and of itself good, but nowhere near the quality of KOTOR1. I hope that BioWare takes a more active role in insuring the continuation of the series.

  • zero2x

    Posted Mar 21, 2008 12:39 am PT

    I'd like to see more casual and intimate character interaction(outside of the main story as well). The elevator rides were hardly enough. When we(gf) were doing side quests there was really no bonding with or between the characters. With all the vast open desolate landscapes it was somewhat depressing and quite repetitive. With all our griping it's easy to forget to mention that we could write a novel about the thing we did like. I really appreciatd that they gave a nod to The Foundation novels by Isaac Asimov. If you like Mass Effect you owe it to your self to read them.

  • Sugamama9944

    Posted Mar 20, 2008 9:38 pm PT

    Well at least they know about the problems. Now it is up to them whether or not they will fix them and make original planets not barren ones. If you havent played KOTOR, play it !!!

  • ckin-

    Posted Mar 19, 2008 2:04 pm PT

    Please make more original environments. The exploring in the game just went *poof* when you realized every damn planet looked "almost" the same. It wasn't worth going through the loading times and movies to see the same thing over and over with less then nothing to explore. Even if it was meant to be "realistic". Not every rock has to be cold and barren. I'd like to visit a lush and life-filled planet, you know? And perhaps add more "citadel" like cities. And better menu design of course.

    Other then that the game was/is pretty cool. Sadly it didn't grasp my 100% attention like Kotor did. Dunno why.

  • football_legend

    Posted Mar 19, 2008 11:31 am PT

    I have high hopes for this Sequel. The original was near perfect, only tech problems ruined it. I hope they fix those tech problems, fix some interfaces like inventory. Better fire fights and there u have it! The perfect game. I want the fire fights to be on a smaller scale for being very tight integrated.

  • other44

    Posted Mar 18, 2008 5:08 pm PT

    sweet

  • imnodewd

    Posted Mar 17, 2008 1:34 pm PT

    It's great to hear them not only acknowledge players' complaints about repetitive side quests, but also promise to fix that aspect of the game. In my opinion, the side quest/Mako issue was the one thing that kept Mass Effect from being a truly awesome game. Every time I bounced around on a planet that looked almost exactly like every other planet I'd been on, I felt like I was playing an unfinished game. It was like the main line and the side quest line were made by two completely different developers. If the main quest line wasn't so incredibly well done, the game probably wouldn't be worth finishing.

  • EuroMafia

    Posted Mar 17, 2008 1:06 pm PT

    I hope they don't rush it and fix the bugs.

  • Rizer

    Posted Mar 16, 2008 9:59 pm PT

    I can't wait. I hope they follow up with the whole ME1 save data having a great impact on the continued story of ME2.

  • valuum

    Posted Mar 16, 2008 11:36 am PT

    Mass Effect is amazing. The story, the characters, and the sheer magnitude of things to do are just some of the things that make this game awesome. But in all honesty, the mako sucks........ and the sidequests were very, very repetitive. For me it wasnt so much the surface environments, as thats pretty much what you'd expect AND its what most planets would logically look like, but it was the constantly recycled complex's and compounds. They were all the same model, just with different fillers (crates, plants, etc). The DLC gave a very good example of some of the diversity that could be created with regards to buildings and such. I am kind of worried however about the next game, as Mass Effect 1 just BARELY fit onto one DVD. How much more can they do? And if they split the game up onto two disks, how would that affect the 'freedom to explore' style of gameplay? Im probobaly worried for nothing as it is Bioware, and they can do anything so.....

  • LaraCroft15

    Posted Mar 16, 2008 11:12 am PT

    can't wait to play this one! definetely one of the best games out there! my advice to BioWare is to read their Mass Effect community forums, there are some great ideas about the sequel out there

  • SalarianChemist

    Posted Mar 15, 2008 3:30 pm PT

    Bioware just announced that Mass Effect 2 will be released exclusively on the Xbox 360, and then it will eventually be released for the PC. This is pretty much was will happen with the first Mass Effect. But they specifically said that the Mass Effect games will remain console-exclusive to the Xbox 360.

    Mass Effect really is my favorite RPG of all time.

    Xbox 360 truly does have a LOT of AWESOME games in the RPG genre. Xbox 360 isn't just about "first person shooters" the way the original Xbox was. Xbox 360 has by far the biggest selection of games in every genre.

    Mass Effect, Oblivion: Game of the Year Edition, Lost Odyssey, Blue Dragon, Two Worlds...those are all awesome RPG games.

    And the Real-Time Strategy games on the Xbox 360 are also awesome. Command & Conquer 3, Battle for Midearth 2, Universe at War, and all the other ones, including the upcoming Halo Wars!!!

  • Kravyn81

    Posted Mar 15, 2008 10:50 am PT

    Isn't ME2 going directly to MS's next Xbox?

  • Double0hFor

    Posted Mar 14, 2008 3:36 pm PT

    if they do kotor 3(HOPEFULLY), ur guy better start off with powers and **** im sick of these swords that do nothing, and dont make it like taris, that was way too long in the first one

  • dylant21

    Posted Mar 14, 2008 1:43 pm PT

    KOTOR 3 is supposed to be an mmorpg /cheer, and yes kotor pwns all.

  • dannyatkinson

    Posted Mar 14, 2008 11:06 am PT

    I like Mass Effect but I think it was i huge disappointment. I expected it to be more like KOTOR. Kotor is my favorite game. I do not mind that everything is different but ME doesn't even have any kind of mele weapons.
    I also hate that most planets are abandoned. Exploration can be just plain boring. All in all a good game though. I am just looking for KOTOR 3

  • fierto

    Posted Mar 14, 2008 10:37 am PT

    i agree with dylant21. altough the storyline is great, i got sick and tired of exploring the same planets only in an diffrent setting.

  • dylant21

    Posted Mar 14, 2008 7:13 am PT

    I don't know about mass effect, I think it was overrated. The game looked great and ran good to, but it was very repetitive as far as the quests go, it gets old doing 80% of your missions on a deserted planet with no city, economy, or any kind of population. Most of the missions were stupid easy and at times felt they had no relation to the game. All the talk about how big the game was supposed to be got me very excited, I was looking forward to having over 200 planets to choose from until I found out theres only 1 place to go for any kind of city life and people interactions with merchants and all that good stuff. None of the other planets were very exciting when you landed down on them, just rock...and you really weren't on another planet for any reason other than for your mission which doesn't promote good fun exploration. I give the game a 7.8 out of 10. It could have been way better, I felt they rushed the game a little. I'm sure mass effect 2 will be better so Im sure ill grab it it when it comes.

  • Nawras

    Posted Mar 14, 2008 6:26 am PT

    Please please please no more of this stupid solitary planet exploration with cumbersome tank! Either improve it drastically (see Kingdom Hearts II's space ship missions compared to the first game for reference) or replace it with something fun

  • Calverz

    Posted Mar 14, 2008 3:47 am PT

    Although I loved mass effect, the story, the graphics, its take on how the future would look and its dialogue options, they really do need to sort out the side quests. They were very samey. Length as well.

  • HellJumper

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 11:02 pm PT

    Mass Effect is easly one of my favourite games. I knew they'd make another one, but a possible 'trilogy'? A great thing to look forward to!

  • iiiiiinnnnnnnnn

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 9:36 pm PT

    mass Effect was one of my best game on the 360 i they should put more wepons in game rocket lauchers ect in the first they all look the same just different coulers and statslike to see more veriaty in me2 also i would like the side quest imporved cant wait to see the finish product!!!

  • ocdog45

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 6:58 pm PT

    we will see, i have to play the first one.

  • Ryir554

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 5:46 pm PT

    Mass Effect was awesome, how could they make it any better?

  • OCTAVIATOR

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 4:33 pm PT

    How do you get the "Completionist" achievement?

  • CaRD0N

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 4:24 pm PT

    Can't wait. I just hope EA is hands-off and it's not just a Madden-type upgrade.

  • Ek-Andy

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 4:12 pm PT

    Excellent. For me, Mass Effect would have been the best thing ever had it not been for thosse side quests. Sure, they were occasionally fun, but seeing the same enviroments over and over again with very little variation can get just a bit tedious. The main quests was superb, but the side quests, which are such a big part of Bioware games (and sometimes are even more fun than some of the story (Jade Empire arena quest for example)), just felt more like quantity over quality.

  • joshua05

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 3:59 pm PT

    This is one of the best games i have played. So there are some little thinks that don't work right, but the game is great. I hope that MASS Effect 2 gets all the time it needs and isn't pushed to be a yearly seuqul.

  • datniccah187

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 3:27 pm PT

    Sweet sweet can't wait for it to come out, hopefully before the year is out, but i doubt it will come along that quick.

  • centuryslayer

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 3:04 pm PT

    This is porn baby! XD
    I hope they add some online features, like the persistent online worlds in NWN (I live the Role play servers), and the ability to play as another race (at least in multiplayer/online). also more variety on the different planets would be nice, and some more monsters apart from the thresher maw (who seems to live on almost every planet xD)
    there where too few variations on the enemies, it felt kinda odd going up against a spieces that was said to be extinct on like 3 planets xD

  • ripdareaper92

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 2:13 pm PT

    i still haven't played it yet but i plan to get mass effect, They have to make a Portal 2

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